UPDATE: Police dogs search area around home of missing Conway teen

Law enforcement officials updated the media Sunday evening on the ongoing search for missing teen Abigail Hernandez. Fish & Game Major Kevin Jordan is flanked by associate state Attorney General Jane Young and Kieran Ramsey, the FBI's Supervisor Special Agent in New Hampshire. Behind Jordan is Conway Police Chief Ed Wagner. (LARISSA MULKERN PHOTO)

CONWAY – On the sixth day of what has become a massive search for Abigail Hernandez, at least five police search dogs were brought to the area of her home.

Authorities conceded, however, that they aren't sure today's ground search will yield any clues to the whereabouts of the missing teenager.

Senior assistant attorney general Jane Young Monday said authorities have not found evidence leading them in one particular direction in Hernandez' case.

"We have no evidence that (a ground search with dogs) will lead us anywhere; we are just scouring every lead and every possible avenue in this case," Young said.

"We don't have one direction yet, so we have to look at everything," she said.

The public, Young said, has been very helpful in providing tips and potential leads in the case since Wednesday, when Hernandez was last seen walking home from Kennett High School at about 2:30 p.m.

A New Hampshire State Police dog tracked her to her house at 86 Village Way.

Police said her cellphone was last used about four hours after she left school Wednesday; the final call was made in the vicinity of Cranmore Mountain Resort, a little more than two miles from where she lived.

Kieran Ramsey, the FBI's supervisory special agent in New Hampshire, said thus far investigators have received approximately 200 tips from as far away as Texas. He urged the public to search their own properties, sheds and yards for any sign of the missing girl and said that "no effort is wasted."

Jordan said searchers have covered 4,000 acres or nearly five square miles of wilderness looking for the girl. Officers are conducting close-quarter line searches using GPS technology.

Law enforcement agencies involved in the search – including area police, the state Attorney General's office, Carroll County Sheriff officers, the Carroll County attorney's office, state police and the FBI – will gather for a press conference at 6 p.m. Monday.

Previous story follows:

CONWAY — Missing teenager Abigail Hernandez's cell phone was last used about four hours after she left school Wednesday.

Fish and Game Maj. Kevin Jordan said Sunday the final call on the 15-year-old's phone was made in the vicinity of Cranmore Mountain Resort, a little more than two miles from where she lived.

Law enforcement officials held a news conference in front of the Conway Police Department Sunday evening to update the public on the fifth day of the search. They thanked the community for its support, and urged anyone with any information to come forward. Hernandez was last seen walking home from Kennett High School about 2:30 p.m.; a New Hampshire State Police dog tracked her to her house at 86 Village Way.

Kieran Ramsey, the FBI's supervisory special agent in New Hampshire, said thus far investigators have received approximately 200 tips from as far away as Texas. He urged the public to search their own properties, sheds and yards for any sign of the missing girl and said that "no effort is wasted."

"We're still relying on tips," he said.

Jordan said searchers have covered 4,000 acres or nearly five square miles of wilderness looking for the girl. Officers are conducting close-quarter line searches using GPS technology. Today, five teams of trained K-9 scent dogs will be brought in.

"In my mind, this is still a missing person case," Jordan said.

When asked what differentiates a missing person case from a suspected abduction, Agent Ramsey replied, "quite literally, nothing." It is the lack of information regarding abduction or any other outcome that keeps the case a missing person investigation, he said.

As Fish and Game members walked the grid in the vicinity of the cell tower signal from Hernandez's phone Saturday, they discovered a human skull with teeth that will be sent off to the state lab for a DNA analysis. (See story, Page A8.)

"We were actually looking for Abby, and were looking in the area of the cell phone band from the tower signal the last time her phone was activated," Jordan said.

During the media briefing Saturday night at the Conway Police Department, Zenya Hernandez made a tearful plea for her daughter to come home, wished her a happy 15th birthday, and asked anyone that has noticed a change in the girl's behavior or who knows anything to come forward.

A Greenville man who ran away from officers during a search was found a few hours later after a search involving a New Hampshire State Police helicopter, police said.

UPDATED 3/19 @ 2:40 am

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